Penn State women’s basketball (7-9, 0-5 Big Ten) lost to No. 9 Michigan (13-2, 4-1 Big Ten) 105-65 on Thursday Night at Rec Hall.

Despite an 18-point effort by Gracie Merkle, the Lady Lions are still looking for their first conference win of the season.

How It Happened

Michigan’s Mila Holloway hit a three-pointer for the first points of the game. Tèa Clèante responded for the Lady Lions with a layup on the ensuing possession.

Michigan would then go on an 18-0 run with threes by Syla Swords and Te’yala Delfosse. Tèa Clèante ended the run with a three of her own to make it 20-5 Wolverines.

The teams would trade buckets, and it would be 25-11 Michigan after the first quarter.

The second quarter began with layups by Kiyomi McMiller and Michigan’s Ashley Sofilkanich. The teams would exchange misses, and a McMiller turnover led to a McKenzie Mathurin fastbreak layup to extend Michigan’s lead to 18.

Gracie Merkle answered with her second and third layups of the game. Back-to-back fast break buckets helped Penn State shorten the Michigan lead to 15 with just under five minutes left in the half.

Despite three more layups by Merkle, Michigan controlled the rest of the half, going into the half up 58-31, with Delfosse leading the scoring with 15.

A three-pointer by McMiller and two free throws by Moriah Murray started the second half. Swords and Clèante would then trade layups on fast breaks to make it 60-38 Michigan just over two minutes into the third.

A McMiller layup would end a 13-0 Wolverine run that lasted almost six minutes. Highlights of the run were threes by Swords and Alyssa Crockett.

A three-ball by Olivia Olson made it 81-44 going into the final quarter.

A jumper by Olson, followed by a layup by Merkle, got the fourth quarter started. A free throw by Shaelyn Steele and a three by Nyla McFadden cut the Wolverine lead to 33 with just under eight minutes of game time remaining.

Both Holloway and McFadden would hit two free throws to make it 90-56 Michigan through four minutes of the fourth.

A jumper and three by Michigan would be responded with back-to-back fast break jumpers by McMiller. Mathurin would score a combined seven points on Michigan’s next four possessions.

Two made free throws by McFadden would be the final points scored as the Lady Lions would drop the game 105-65.

Takeaways

• Turnovers really killed the Lady Lions. They turned the ball over 25 times, which led to 30 Wolverine points.
• 3-point shooting also played a key difference, with Michigan shooting 12-17 from beyond the arc compared to Penn State shooting just 5-19.
• The Wolverines’ bench outshone the Lady Lions, outscoring them 44-18.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions look to bounce back at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, January 11, when they’ll take on Illinois. Tip-off is at 3 p.m., with the game being broadcast on the Big Ten Network.